1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heading machine and, more particularly, to a heading machine for forming a head of a lace, such as a shoelace.
2. Description of the Related Art
A lace includes fibers and threads which are interwoven together. The front and rear ends of the lace are usually knotted during the weaving process to prevent the lace from being dispersed due to fray. A heading machine is used for forming a head of a lace (such as a shoelace), a tie, a band, a belt or the like. In operation of the conventional heading machine, the lace that has been woven is cut to have a determined length, and two plastic mounting rings are mounted on the front and rear ends of the lace to prevent the lace from being dispersed due to fray at the front and rear ends thereof. In general, the operator has to manually adjust the length of the lace and to fix the lace. Then, the lace is driven by the heading machine reciprocally, and is cut to have a determined length. The lace is covered by or mounted with a head during the cutting action, so that the lace will not be dispersed due to the fray. However, the conventional heading machine needs a manual labor to accomplish the length adjustment of the lace, thereby wasting the working time and energy, and thereby decreasing the working efficiency and precision. In addition, the operator has to measure and adjust the size of the lace, and to cut the residual part of the lace during measurement, thereby wasting the material of the lace. Further, the tension of the lace driven by the heading machine is not kept at a constant value, so that the cut lace has different length, thereby producing a size error. Further, when the length of the lace is changed, the operator has to adjust and calibrate the size again.